Tips for Reading With Your Child

During Reading Week, B’nai Shalom welcomed Alyssa Samet, Speech Language Pathologist, to speak with parents about the importance of reading with your child from infancy through elementary grades. Reading is directly linked to speech development and success in school. Alyssa spoke with parents about best practices when reading with your children, how to engage them while reading, and how to create lifelong readers. Check out some of the great tips Alyssa shared to make the most out of your shared reading time with your child:

Before You Start To Read:

Encourage children to explore books independently

Point out the title, author, and illustrator on the front cover

Ask the child to tell you what they think the story is going to be about based on the title or cover art

While Reading Through the Story:

Let your child turn the pages

Follow your child’s lead (and pace) while reading through the book

Ask questions as you read: What do you think? How would that happen?

Ask the child to point to certain letters or pictures

Ask the child to follow along with you by pointing to the words you are reading

Ask the child to finish sentences of books that repeat lines (ex: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?)